Mothering Sunday
by Em Kay Who
Summary: It's Mother's Day in Pete's World and the Doctor has a special surprise for Jackie Tyler. Set in The Holiday 'Verse.


**A/N: Since March 26th is Mother's Day in the UK, I offer you this little one-shot that fits into The Holiday 'Verse. Happy Mother's Day to all you mums out there!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related.**

* * *

"Doctor? Are you okay in there?" Rose called out through their bedroom door. It was now mid afternoon and the Doctor had been sequestered in their bedroom since early that morning, claiming he needed privacy to work on a special project. It wasn't wholly unusual for him to need a little space while he worked on things, but it was a bit frustrating that the only place he could get that privacy was their bedroom. It only reiterated to Rose that at some point soon they were going need to start looking for a bigger flat, or maybe even a house. Now that would be an interesting conversation to have with the Doctor!

The door opened suddenly, just enough for the Doctor to stick his head out, a goofy grin gracing his face. "Right as rain!"

"What are you up to in there?"

"Nothing! Well," he drew out, "obviously not nothing, I'm doing _something_. Clearly. It's just a little project."

Rose frowned. "You're being rather secretive."

"Am I?"

"Doctor, do you have glitter on your nose?" she asked, her eyes focused on the center of his face.

His hand flew up to rub at his nose. "What? Don't be silly, Rose Tyler. Why would I have glitter on my nose? The only reason I would have glitter on my nose was if I was going to the Efelum Festival on the planet Dally. Which I am not."

"You're being weirder than normal. Seriously, what are you doing in there?" She sniffed. "Are you using that extra strength Torchwood glue? You remember what happened the last time! You need to open the windows so you don't end up high as a kite," she chided.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. "Honestly, Rose. Have a little faith in me. Of course I remembered to open the windows. And if you must know, I'm working on a present for your mum. Are you happy now?" he huffed, crossing his arms in irritation. He didn't mean to be so short with her, but he wanted this surprise for her mum to be a surprise for her too. It had been something he'd been planning for a long time now and was genuinely excited for Jackie to see it.

"You're working on a present for mum? What for?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused. She knew her mother and the Doctor got along better than now than they ever did before, but this was still a bit unusual, even for him.

"Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday!"

Rose smiled at his use of the dated term. "Well, yeah, but I already got her a gift certificate for that day spa she likes. And my dad got us all reservations for lunch at the bistro she fancies."

"I know that, but what I'm working on is just a little something special from me," he admitted. "I want this to be a surprise for you too. I promise, I'm almost done, and when I am we can just relax together for the rest of the evening."

"Okay, Doctor. If you say so."

* * *

"Happy Mother's Day, Mum!" Rose exclaimed, pulling her mum into a warm hug. The bistro they were having lunch in was crowded, as was the norm for this particular holiday, but Pete had been able to secure them a table on the back patio that lended them some privacy.

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart! Isn't the weather just lovely? The perfect day for sitting outside. I told your father that if it was raining we would need to eat inside, but this is so much nicer, don't you think?" Jackie gushed, looking happily at her family. "Well, sit down, sit down! Pete ordered us some appetizers and you must try the crispy artichokes!"

The Doctor's eyes lit up. "Nibbles!"

Rose giggled and bent down to kiss her little brother's head before taking her seat. "Well, aren't you looking dapper today, Tony."

The young boy sighed and tugged at his bow tie. "I'm only wearing this for Mummy," he confided quietly.

"I quite like like the look, Anthony. I think you make bow ties look cool," the Doctor said, bringing a smile to lad's face.

"Rose! Did Mummy tell you about the jewelry box I painted for her?" Tony asked his sister excitedly.

Jackie smiled and pulled out her mobile. "I took pictures! It's really darling." Opening her photo app, she showed the Doctor and Rose the bright pink and purple jewelry box that had been gifted to her that morning.

"Oh, Tony, it's lovely! And are those... dinosaurs?" Rose questioned, pointing to the green splotches on top.

"Yep!" he answered with a toothy grin.

"Because when you think of Mother's Day, you think of dinosaurs," Pete muttered to the Doctor, both men chuckling.

"I think it's the prettiest jewelry box that I've ever seen!" Jackie proclaimed proudly.

"Well, I don't think I could possibly beat a jewelry box with dinosaurs painted by our son, but I do hope you'll enjoy this as well," her husband told her, handing her a small white envelope.

She made a small tisking noise, but looked pleased nonetheless. "Oh, Pete. You already bought me flowers and planned this lunch for us!"

He shook his head in amusement. "Just open it, love."

"Mama Mia tickets?! And you're actually coming with me?"

"Unless you want to take someone else, but the plan was for me to come."

She slapped his arm. "Of course I want you to come with me! How did you know I wanted to see this show?"

Pete leaned over and kissed his wife's cheek. "You singing ABBA songs under your breath on a near daily basis was a bit of a hint, my love."

"Oh, you! Thank you, Pete."

"My turn! Here ya go, Mum!" Rose said, handing over the Mother's Day card that held the gift certificate for Jackie's favourite day spa.

Jackie's squealed in excitement when she opened it. "This is perfect! I've been barking for a girlie day. Thank you, sweetheart. And you too, Doctor," she was sure to add.

"Oh, that's not from me," he responded. Seeing Jackie's frown he continued in a rush, "I just mean, I've got another present for you! That one's from Rose. I have something else for you. Sorry about that. Uh, here," he handed her the carefully wrapped present he had so far kept from her view.

"You bought me a present?" she asked warily.

"No, I made you a present."

"S' not going to blow up is it?"

The Doctor made a face in offense. "Why would I make you something that would blow up!?"

"Well, how should I know," she argued back.

Rose held her hands up to get the bickering pair's attention. "Mum, the Doctor spent a lot of time on whatever that is and you're being rude."

Jackie bowed her at her daughter's words. "Sorry, Doctor. Can't blame me for being a bit suspicious," she added under her breath.

"Mum!"

"All right, all right! I'm only teasin'. Now let's see what this is." Weighing the present in her hands, she said, "It's heavy isn't it? What're you up to, Doctor?"

The Doctor gave a tight smile. "Go ahead and open it, Jackie."

Finding the edge of the paper, Jackie quickly tore the wrapping away, revealing a large leather bound photo album with silver sparkly circles and swirls decorating the edges. With great care, she opened the album and gasped. "Oh, Doctor... Where did you?... How did you?"

Rose looked between her mother and fiancé. "What is it?"

"It's our pictures, Rose" she cried. "From the other universe."

"What? How is that possible?"

Clearing his throat, the Doctor explained, "I went back to your flat after you were both lost. I saved as much as I could. I kept hoping... Well, after the Crucible, when I knew what the other me was going to do with me, I chucked as much in my pockets as I could. I would have given them all to you sooner, but the album itself took quite a long time to put together." He tugged on his ear. "I think you'll find, Jackie that your present is a bit bigger on the inside. Needed the extra space for all the pictures. I tried to place them chronology, starting with your baby pictures and going from there, but you can adjust them if I got any wrong."

"Doctor," was the only word Jackie could gasp out before breaking down into sobs. Pete immediately wrapped his arms around his wife and Rose stood from her chair so she could move and comfort her mum as well.

"Mummy? What's wrong? It didn't blow up! Why're you crying?" Tony asked, distressed over his mother's tears.

Jackie swiped at her eyes and pulled her youngest into her lap. "These are happy tears, Tony. Look here," she opened the album and pointed to the first picture, "that's me when I was a baby."

"Wow!"

Flipping to the middle of the album, she found the pictures of Rose. "And here's your big sister when she was a baby. Oh, I never thought I would see these again."

"Hey, look!" Tony pointed to a picture next to the one his mum had shown him. "Rose, is that your first daddy? You're right, he looks just like Daddy only with more hair!"

"Thanks, mate," Pete chuckled good-naturedly.

Rose blinked back tears. "Yeah, thats him."

For the next few minutes Jackie and Rose pointed out various photos, getting lost in the memories from their former universe, interrupted only when the waitress came to take their order. Embarrassed that they hadn't even looked at the menu, they each quickly picked out their lunch items. When the waitress went to put their orders in, they opened the album once more.

"If you flip to the back, Jackie, you'll see one more surprise," the Doctor told her. So far he had remained quiet, enjoying the sight of his family (for indeed they were his family) look at the pictures, but he knew Jackie would appreciate his last surprise.

Doing as instructed, Jackie Tyler looked opened the album to the last page. There on the inside of the back cover was a built in pocket. Reaching inside she pulled out a small stack of index cards, yellowed with age. "My mum's recipes!" Overcome with emotion, she lifted Tony off her lap and handed the album to Rose, before standing from her chair and pulling the Doctor into a tight embrace.

"I will never be able to thank you enough for this, Doctor," she said, her face buried in his shoulder

He shook his head. "You don't have to thank me, Jackie. These all belong to you and it is my pleasure to return them to you."

Pulling back from the hug, she asked, "What do all those circles on the cover mean? I've seen you scribble them before."

"That's Gallifreyan. My language."

"What does it say?"

"It's your story, Jackie Tyler," he told her.

Jackie eyed him up and down and poked his chest. "Every time I think I have you figured out, you turn around and surprise me."

"Gotta keep you on your toes!" The Doctor gave her a cheeky wink. "Happy Mother's Day, Jackie."


End file.
